Sermon Tone Analysis

Observe:

1.Departure - Jesus speaking of DEPARTURE – Nobleman into far country to receive kingdom; preparing disciples for his departure

2.Delay - Jesus speaks of a DELAY – Not only will Jesus depart … he will also return

a. Disciples thought kingdom – eternal reign – would be set up immediately

b.

Jesus had already told them that the KofG was already here – in a sense

c.

Disciples thought that going to Jerusalem would usher it in in it’s fullness

d.

The parable broaches the subject of DELAY

e. Remember – ALREADY … but NOT YET

3.Rejection - V:14 – Jesus broaches the subject of REJECTION

a.

The nobleman in the story goes off to receive a Kingdom

b.

He isn’t liked by the citizens of the kingdom

c.

The parable had a back story that Jesus’ hearers would have understood

i. 30 years previous – the cruel son (ARCHELAUS) of a cruel King (Herod the Great) went to Rome

ii.

He wanted the Roman Emperor to give him rule of Palestine (like dad)

iii.

He was so unpopular that a group of Jewish leaders followed him to Rome and argued that he NOT be made king

iv.

They were successful - He was not made king

i.

He was given the title Ethnarch – Not all the power he wanted

a. Jesus’ listeners would have understood the back story

b. “Oh, I’ve heard this before”

c.

But Jesus isn’t talking about ARCHELAUS … He was talking about Himself.

4.Reward - Fourth Observation – Look at how Jesus addresses the issue of REWARD … 16-18 – Rewards are important in this passage … but we wont go too far down the bunny trail discussing them.

a. Rewards are for faithfulness

b.

Rewards stress how Generous God is.

5.Judgment - Fifth observation is about JUDGMENT – 22-27 – The Judgement falls when the King returns upon:

a.

The unfaithful nominal professor

b.

AND on those who HATE the king

Do you think much about end times?

The theological term here is Eschatology

That means the study of end times … scripturally.

The bible does teach about the future and the end

Some are very … VERY interested in this topic … some are OVER THE TOP about this topic

Have you ever read the book “Late Great Planet Earth”? - Sold 35 million Copies as of 2000

Have you ever seen the film “A Thief in the Night” - Film about the coming of Christ … scared me to death when I saw it

The Left Behind Series - 65 million + copies - I think there were three or four movies made

All of these books or series present Christ’s coming in a certain sequence of events … THere are numerous schools of thought concerning Christ’s return … I Shall Name them! - I will not take time to explain them … Ask me later and I will tell you which camp I might belong in.

PreMillenialism

AMillenialism

PostMillenialism

Historic PreMillenialism

Dispensational Premillenialism

PanMillenialism --- It will all Pan out in the end :)

I like what O. Palmer Robertson says … I’m a PROMillenialist

He went on to say this “I believe that Jesus is coming again, we know not when, and we’d better be ready!”

That is pretty good biblical counsel!

The study of Eschatology is never intended to produce a preoccupation with speculation about the future but rather …

It is designed to help us live today!!!!!

In other words whatever the bible tells us about the future … is directly relevent to living right now.

That is what Jesus is doing here … teaching the disciples what to expect … so they know how to live

They were already anticipating that the kingdomo would come in it’s fullness … the Not Yet

They were missing much of what he was saying about his sufferings

They awaited a Davidic King to set on His throne and for the Romans to be expelled

They wanted the kingdom immediately … He makes clear that that is not going to happen yet

Jerusalem … awaits … and there will be something else

He tells them that in the face of His rejection and crucifixion … Instead their life and ministry will be to faithfully serve him … and await his return

Three words will help us apply this passage … First word …

Apply

EXPECTATION

Expect Rejection - Read verse 14

Jesus is saying that they shoukld not expect everyoine in Jerusalem to Embrace HIm

In just a few days they will be shouting Hosanna … and a few days after that “Crucify Him”

Jesus is telling his disciples that they should expect HIM to be rejected … they are to get the point that in a week there will be no victory parade

There are those who tell christians … “Follow Jesus and you’ll be healthy.

Follow Jesus and you’ll be rich.

Follow Jesus and you won't have problems.

And if you do, and if you do, it's because you don't have enough faith.”

Jesus is telling them that to follow His isnt to lead a victory parade

Rather it is to faithfully serve a King who is going to be rejected … and that will mean you will be rejected

He to them to expect Rejection

He also tells them to anticipate endurance

This isnt going to be over quickly … This is going to require endurance

Look at verse 11 … far country … long time to get there … llong time to get back

This is a marathon not a sprint

Jesus is setting our expectations in reality

The Christian life is …

A Long Distance Race

A Fight

DEVOTION

Paul was clear on his expectations … That’s why He didnt cave in …

2 Tim

Expect Rejection … Expect to have to Endure

DEVOTION

Note the noblemans charge …

Some times people read these accounts and lock on issue of rewards …

They stress that if you do X … you get Y

You do good, you do really good … THEN you get more reward.

Some look at this and think we are dealing with proportional rewarding system.